Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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26th June 2020
Fri 26 Jun 2020Dear Parents, Guardians,
It has been such a pleasure to welcome more children back this week. The children are managing very well within the regulations set out and all seem to be enjoying being back. On Monday our year 5's will be in for some transition work with Mrs Stangroom ready to step up to the exciting challenges of year 6 from September. It is delightful to hear the laughter, chatter and music around school again; I could publish a book after all this with all the funny things I hear from children and staff!! Today I saw the impact Google classrooms could have going forwards and the collaborative work between the children, from a distance, is fantastic and very exciting.
I wanted to communicate with you now about staff leaving. The current situation with Coronavirus has impacted decisions some of our staff have made. Sadly, Mrs Myall left just before Easter and without a proper goodbye; we look forward to celebrating her commitment to the school in the future. Mrs Judge was also due to leave us at Easter but she has been able to continue to work which I am incredibly grateful for. Mrs Judge will however be leaving us at the end of term and I hope in some way we can say goodbye then and properly in the future. Finally, we need to say goodbye to Mrs Beakhouse and Miss Parish. Mrs Beakhouse has supported so many children over many years and we are sad to see her go. I know she is looking forward to spending a lot of time with her family, especially her first grandchild. Miss Parish has been on maternity leave following the arrival of Bernie and wishes to stay at home with her family. I know you will join me in wishing all our staff well and thanking them for their hard work and dedication.
Over the next two weeks we will be emailing home the End of Year Reports; along with the report we will be sharing staffing information for September. Normally by now we would be organising whether our current Reception children will be in Rosefinch or Bullfinch. We are delaying the process as we await further government guidance on schools for September; this may impact our structure and organisation. We will remain in contact with you to share information and we will consult with you as we move through the process.
Finally, I wanted to clarify arrangements for the end of term, Tuesday 21st July. Transition is vital at this stage of the year to ensure the children have a smooth transition to their next year group. As I am sure you can imagine we wish to provide some support for our Reception children coming into school in September; Mrs Guillaume will be supporting this transition on Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st so our current Reception children will have their last day in school on Friday 17th July. Mrs Dodds is working with some of the current year 2 children and their last session in school will be on 14th July to enable Mrs Dodds to spend time with the key worker bubble of year 2 children. This will ensure we have supported them all in preparation for September. The year 6 children will also have their last day on 14th July although I know there are online leavers’ show plans going on beyond this date. We would like to invite the year 4 children back on Monday 20th July to spend the morning with Mrs Wirth and Mrs Williams to support their transition into Goldfinch for September. School will be open for Key worker children on the Monday and Tuesday 20th and 21st July. Aside from this provision, staff will receive some training on Google classrooms and have time together to plan for September as best we can at this stage.
I know many parents are finding this time difficult, especially as the length of lockdown seems extensive. We remain confident that in school we are providing as much as we can in a safe way, and at home parents are supporting in the best ways they are able to. The most important thing is our health and wellbeing of our children. Hopefully during this period and over the summer we will nurture our physical and mental health and we will come back in September ready, energised and determined. Next week's learning will have a slightly different feel as we approach the end of term and this will have a focus on our wellbeing. Next Friday would have been Sports day so instead we will be competing virtually this year. Thank you Mr O'Reilly for organising this for us; I am sure the Reds will win but I look forward to seeing you challenge me on that!!
Have a lovely weekend, take care
Jacquie Vanstone
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19th June 2020
Fri 19 Jun 2020Dear Parents & Guardians,
I hope you are well; it has been lovely to speak to lots of you this week. It has been delightful to hear all the fun and laughter in school with wonderful learning taking place at school and at home.
Staff are working incredibly hard on both learning in school and for home learning and we are developing the way we approach both.
I would like to thank the parents coming to school for the way you have adapted to the timings and procedures in place. As a school community it is vital that the government guidance is adhered to by us all, this will in turn help to keep staff, children and our own families as safe as possible.
On 20th March we had to close school with barely any notice and I feel incredibly proud of the staff, pupil and parent response to this. As time has gone on we have been continually evaluating and improving our home learning provision and I cannot thank the staff enough. Some of you may be aware that the DFE have been providing financial support for schools for the use of Google Classrooms. We now have access to Google Classrooms and after a great deal of time and effort from Mrs Wirth and Mrs Stangroom we have given access to Goldfinch as a trial. If we find it works well and can be adapted to suit other classes, this may be an approach to use more widely going forwards.
Today, I hope to find out more information about the Government catch up plans and the viability of the holiday club going ahead in the Summer. There has been much negative press about teachers over the past few months; this has been difficult to hear and read knowing how hard we are working and how much we need our summer holiday!! This week we have been given some beautiful gifts to capture this unprecedented time; the support from you all has been wonderful and we thank you.
I wish you a lovely weekend and look forward to another busy week next week. Please check the Office updates for information on school lunches, the new Parentmail system and more. The information regarding parental permissions for Parent Mail access requires a response, thank you.
Jacquie Vanstone
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School provision
Tue 16 Jun 2020Dear Parents,
I hope you are well and that the children are continuing their home learning with enthusiasm and confidence. Please remember that we are here to support you if you need it.
Yesterday I emailed families who are not currently at school regarding an offer of wider opening. I would like to share with the parents of children already allocated to a bubble. The provision is as follows:
Year 2 - Monday and Tuesday mornings with Mrs Dodds
Year 3 - Wednesday with Mrs Gan and Mrs Grey
Year 4 - Friday with Mrs Coulson and Mrs Patterson
Year 5 - Two picnics with Mrs Stangroom to support transition into Year 6.
We have worked incredibly hard to enable this face to face contact before the summer holiday whilst maintaining provision of pre-existing bubbles. Once children are in a bubble they cannot move to another without time out of school. It is also important to note that siblings are not necessarily together; this was a difficult decision to make but one I feel enhances wellbeing and learning for the children.
I thank you once again for your support at this unprecedented time.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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School provision
Wed 10 Jun 2020Dear Parents,
I hope you are all well. I wanted to write to you today following the government announcement yesterday.
I am delighted with how well our partial reopening has gone. We currently have Reception in every morning, Year 6 in on a Monday and Tuesday and Year 1 children in on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The organisation of this has been carefully thought out. The allocation of staff and space to each bubble makes the possibility of wider opening incredibly challenging for all schools.
We are fully committed to the education and wellbeing of every child and I thank you and our staff for the support with home learning. I am working with governors to explore options to enable the safe return of more pupils this term and want to assure you that we will do all we can whilst keeping clear safety measures in place.
I understand this is a time of uncertainty for us all. Please stay in touch with us via email or call the office; we are here to support you all. I would also welcome parent feedback on how you have found the transition back into school as this may be helpful for future planning. Please email head@finchampstead.wokingham.sch.uk
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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5th June 2020
Fri 05 Jun 2020Dear Parents,
I hope you are all well. The change in the weather is a shock after having such beautiful weather for so long.
This week school has reopened for Reception, Year 1 and our provision for key worker children has been redesigned. The children in school have all looked so happy and have adapted brilliantly to the new structure and organisation. The staff have worked so hard to ensure this transition back into school is positive and I can't thank them enough. On Monday we welcome back some Year 6 pupils; it will be wonderful to see them.
Well done to all those emailing in work from home; it is always harder after a break but the learning I have seen looks wonderful. Home learning has continued since half term for all year groups and we will continue to contact families to see how we can further support you and your child.
Some parents have asked me about plans for wider opening to the whole school and I wish it was a question I could answer! As I have said previously, we often find out government changes as you do; I will share as much information as I can regarding future plans. Following government guidance and with our current arrangement for children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 and some key worker children, we are near our capacity for both staffing and building.
This Sunday will be Reverend Julie's final service for St James' prior to her retirement. I will share the link to the service on Facebook for you to join if you wish. I would like to thank Reverend Julie for all she has done for our school and school community. I wish her well in retirement and hope we can say a proper thank you and goodbye in the future.
I wish you all a lovely weekend and I would like to thank you for your support at this very challenging time; your thanks and feedback mean a great deal as we strive to provide the best for our children whilst keeping safe.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone